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2009 NNIN REU Program

The 2009 NNIN REU Interns at the Network-Wide Convocation, University of Michigan, August 2009. Edward Tang, Photographer.

Welcome from Prof. Sandip Tiwari, NNIN Director

The summer of 2009 was quite a successful time for the NNIN and its two REU programs. Seventy-four students participated in our Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program, and 10 students, from the 2008 NNIN REU Program, participated in our International Research Experience for Undergraduates (iREU) Program.

This publication reflects the hard work of our interns, but also the dedication of the principal investigators, mentors, program coordinators and site staff. Taking on the challenge of completing comprehensive experi-mental research in ten weeks can be a very formative and defining experience for everyone involved, most especially the undergraduate intern. Our programs test the many skills of learning and applying that learning, and help determine the course of a student's life at a very critical stage when one is coming into one's own.

NNIN attempts to provide such an experience by bringing strong collaborations and interesting research problems in which undergraduate students can participate. Many of our interns get their first taste of advanced hands-on research as part of our program, and we work diligently to make this a positive exper-ience; focusing on advanced research and knowledge, seeking strong mentors and staff support, exposing our interns to a professional research environment, and having high expectations built into the research proj-ects, the convocation, and the final reports included here. In addition, we expect that at each site, students will enjoy the wider variety of research conducted by peers and other users across diverse disciplines of science and engineering within the unifying facilities.

My thanks to the staff, the graduate student mentors and the faculty for their participation and involvement. Particular thanks are due to Melanie-Claire Mallison and Lynn Rathbun at Cornell University, and Nancy Healy at Georgia Institute of Technology for their contributions in organizing the logistics of both programs, and many thanks to Sandrine Martin, Trasa Burkhardt and Brandon Lucas at the University of Michigan for organizing the August convocation.

I wish all our program participants the best wishes for future technical careers; the NNIN hopes to see you build on this summer's experience! Please keep in touch!